ICE Discovers Indigenous Americans Aren't 'Foreigners,' Again
ICE, the agency responsible for 'enforcing immigration laws,' has reportedly been detaining Native Americans, demanding proof of citizenship from people whose ancestors predate the concept of the United States. This isn't groundbreaking; the U.S. government has historically demonstrated a profound inability to respect Indigenous sovereignty, from forced removals to treaty violations. Congress
passed the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924, yet here we are, a century later, still debating who belongs. One might wonder if federal agents ever consult a history book, or if 'borders' only matter when they're not drawing them through ancestral lands. It appears the 'rule of law' is remarkably flexible, depending on whose land you're standing on, or rather, whose land you've 'acquired.' The irony
of an agency tasked with guarding against 'illegal' presence questioning the citizenship of the continent's original inhabitants could practically write its own satire, if it weren't so tragically real for those affected.